One known type of material folding machinery as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,066 can be operated by two operators who hold a curtain or other material to be folded flat and relatively wrinkle free, each operator on one side of the material. The leading edge of one piece of the material is lifted from a pile and is inserted into an input feed section between raised input wheels and a horizontal input roller. The operator depress start switches and the input rollers are lowered and press the material against the input roller. As the operators release the start switches, the input roller rotates and the material is fed into the body of the machine wherein the folding operations are carried out.
While the arrangement described above is generally satisfactory, it has been found that operators from time to time do not position the leading edge of the material in proper position whereby the folded material discharged from the machine may be improperly folded with edges showing in undesired manner or otherwise being somewhat unsightly. In addition, if an operator is unskilled and does not move his hands quickly enough after depressing and releasing the start switch, his hands can get caught between the wheels and rotating input roller and injuries can occur.
The present invention is directed toward a new arrangement for such folding materials wherein improperly positioned material will not be folded and wherein an operator cannot get his hands caught in the manner described above.